Duane Lake is a father of four living in Louisville, KY. He currently works in logistics and has been rebuilding his life since release from lengthy pretrial detention in 2021. Originally from Clarksdale, MS, he spent over six years in the Coahoma County Jail awaiting trial for a triple homicide. Arrested in 2015, he spent two years without an indictment and was ultimately acquitted by a jury in November 2021 after it was proven he did not commit the crime. He is now using his story to power change across the South and is one of the lead protagonists in The Dead Zone documentary.

Genesis Draper serves as the Chief Public Defender for Harris County, making history as the first African American and the first woman to hold the role. She leads one of the largest public defender offices in the nation, grounded in a steadfast belief that freedom is not an aspiration, but a constitutional promise worth defending every single day.

Draper began her legal career as an assistant public defender, representing clients at both the state and federal levels. She later served as a criminal court judge and as an adjunct professor, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the criminal legal system. These experiences reinforced the knowledge that public defense remains the most powerful safeguard against injustice.

A proud graduate of Spelman College and The University of Texas School of Law, Draper is an alumna of Gideon’s Promise, a national organization dedicated to building a movement of public defenders committed to client-centered, zealous advocacy. She now serves on the organization’s Board of Directors, continuing her commitment to strengthening public defense through leadership, training, and transformative impact.

As Chief Public Defender, Draper leads with urgency and purpose, advancing a model of public defense that places dignity, justice, and liberty at its core.

Chris is a seasoned criminal defense trial attorney serving clients across Mississippi. He attended Mississippi College and Mississippi College School of Law, where his journey in criminal defense began through internships with the Capital Defense Counsel division of the Office of the State Public Defender, helping represent people facing the death penalty. After law school, he started his career as a Public Defender. That is where he built the skills and experience to represent people facing the most serious problems of their lives. Beyond the courtroom, he has pursued his craft through nationwide trainings including Gideon's Promise, the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College, and the National Criminal Defense College. He is also a proud member of the Mississippi Association for Justice and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Cliff Johnson is the Director of the MacArthur Justice Center and a member of the faculty at the University of Mississippi School of Law.  He oversees the Center’s litigation efforts and provides instruction and supervision to students participating in the MacArthur Justice Clinic.

Under Johnson’s direction, the MacArthur Justice Center at UM Law has successfully litigated cases challenging practices such as the widespread use of illegal and excessive bail, the operation of “debtors’ prisons” throughout Mississippi, the denial of appointed counsel for indigent defendants, illegal sentencing of juvenile offenders, and the failure to provide inmates with decent prison conditions.  He also is involved in a wide range of education and advocacy efforts addressing criminal justice reform in Mississippi and has made more than 75 presentations at local and national conferences concerning criminal justice and civil rights topics.  In 2016, Johnson was recognized as a Public Justice National Trial Lawyer of the Year for his role as part of a legal team challenging bail abuses throughout the South.  He was named Mississippi Trial Lawyer of the Year for 2017-18 by the Mississippi Association for Justice.

Emily Thomas is a documentary filmmaker and cinematographer specializing in cinema verité filmmaking. She has filmed for Netflix, Frontline, PBS, Peacock, CBS, the New Yorker, among other outlets. She recently was cinematographer on the feature documentary Baby Doe (SXSW ‘25),  and on the Frontline series, American Voices. Her other directing and producing credits include Stories of a Generation (Netflix), and Last Days at Paradise High (The New Yorker). She has been on producing teams with Jigsaw Productions and PBS, including serving as producer of the feature documentary The Great Thirst: William Mulholland, and as associate producer of the Emmy nominated feature documentary, Bodyguard of Lies (Paramount+). Prior to filmmaking, she was a journalist and human rights investigator, reporting on crime and breaking news at The Huffington Post, pioneering video verification at Storyful, and working on international human rights investigations with the Human Rights Center. She is a PGA Create Alum, a member of the Documentary Cinematographer’s Alliance, Documentary Producer’s Alliance and co-chair of the Video Consortium’s Baltimore chapter. She is currently wrapping her feature The Dead Zone, a Sundance Institute and PGA-supported feature documentary about pretrial detention, and is Co-Founder of Lemon Tree Productions.

John Toner is the co-founder of Lemon Tree Productions, where he produces documentaries and impact-driven storytelling focused on economic justice, public health and sustainability. He has worked at the intersection of international development, public health policy, and innovation, including advising governments through the United Nations on data-driven programs aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. John has taught policy design at NYU and helped build award-winning impact platforms and sustainable products globally. His producing credits include contributions to films for FRONTLINE and The New Yorker, and he is currently producing the Sundance Institute and PGA-supported feature documentary The Dead Zone. He is a founding member and Co-Chair of the Video Consortium’s Baltimore chapter.